Dear Enemy, You're My Mate

Chapter 56 **

Patricia

It's when I'm walking home with Elijah, Wesley, William, and Finn that my nostrils flare, and my brain kicks into overdrive. Riley's blood is on my knuckles, and here is the weird part: Riley herself carries the smell of a Winterbite werewolf, but her blood has a scent similar to roses.

I freeze, and when Elijah turns around, my lips part. "Elijah, can you answer a question for me?"

His irises dilate with interest. "Shoot."

I wet my lips. "Before Dior recruited you as part of the Winterbite pack, you were with the vampires, right?"

He nods. "I left as soon as June killed the vampire king and took over our grounds with the help of the Summerburst pack."

I nod. "And here is my last question: do you know if hybrids are born as vampires or werewolves?"

Elijah looks too stunned to talk, but eventually, he answers the question with his jaw ticking. "They are born as werewolves, luna Patricia. While a hybrid can use compulsion from the moment they are born, they need to drink human blood to awaken completely," his expression is calm but hints at him holding back inner rage. "Riley's blood on your hand indeed smells curious—do you believe she is a traitor? She has been right under our notice this entire time, hearing our conversations and eating tacos by our dining table."

After Elijah has finished his sentence, a scream echoes between the trees, and William immediately growls. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who screamed.

"Alice, she is in danger!" William doesn't ask for permission to turn—the werewolf bursts through his clothes and turns into a bloodthirsty wolf ready to protect his mate.

I shape-shift in the blink of an eye to follow William, but Summerburst members jump from behind the trees, lunging themselves at us. There are twenty, maybe thirty of them, and I evade right in time for Elijah to step in and punch one into a tree.

"Go, follow William!" Elijah orders me, with Wesley covering his back in his humongous wolf form. "Find out if Riley is a traitor, luna Patricia! Wesley and I can handle ourselves!"

I give Elijah a quick nod and then lock my gaze on Finn, who turns into a glittery wind. Like always, I hear the whispers of the wind snickering in my ears before magic courses in my veins.

'Let's finish this!'

Finn seems to share my anger. 'I knew that she-wolf was shifty-shady from the first moment I laid my eyes on her!'

I growl a reply as I jump over fallen logs and skitter past tall trees. The orb containing Finn is hanging around my neck, bobbing against my collarbones as I follow Riley's scent.

It doesn't take long before I come to a clearing. In front of me stands Riley with her teeth sunk into Alice's neck. William is growling but not making a move. I think he read the situation well—both vampires and werewolves alike surround us.

Riley's eyes as she drinks Alice's blood. After she is done, she pushes Alice's lifeless body to another vampire. I growl louder, and Riley laughs in pure amusement.

"Oh, she isn't dead, silly!" Riley says. "I just couldn't wait and had a little snack, and perhaps I drank a little too much."

I turn silent. Riley's scent is changing as she smiles at me, and her eyes seem to turn bloodshot red. Her teeth were always pointy and sharp, but they are more pronounced now, and her skin is turning more flawless with each passing second.

Riley studies her hand, smiling at her new claws. "My sister didn't want me to turn, but my days being her spy is finally over. I will now become powerful myself."

The hybrid sticks her hand into her pocket, bringing out a blue orb that reminds me of a sapphire. It's beautiful, and Finn gasps, clearly upset.

'That's my sister Riley got in her hand!'

Riley hangs the orb around her neck to mimic me, but when nothing happens, she frowns. "Huh, I thought this thing would respond to me becoming a hybrid—guess I was wrong."

Without giving us a warning, Riley throws the orb on the ground, and it breaks instantly. A thousand pieces fly in every direction, and Finn screams in response. I can feel his pain like my own. He loses himself to grief and leaves my body.

I can only blink and watch as the fairy fall to his knees in front of the blue dust circling the ground. Tears have sprung to his eyes, but I don't get to console him—vampires step in my way, blocking me from approaching the grieving fairy.

I lift my head and find Riley smirking at me. "It would be fun to kill you myself, but I have places to be," she throws Alice over her shoulder, and I realize she is much stronger than before. "Goodbye, Patricia!" She winks at me and then turns around. "Kill her."

The Summerburst pack comes to life and jumps over me. William tries to shield me, but there are too many of them. We are both caught in battle, and I bite one vampire after the other. There isn't an end to them!

William uses the mind-link. 'We can't win this fight without Finn! Why isn't he with you?'

'I can't merge with him when he is like that!' I shout back as I jump to evade a vampire's punch. 'Finn and I need to be on the same wavelength, and right now, he isn't in a good enough mental state! The guy lost his sister, the only person he cares about!'

William responds by growling, and then I can't see him anymore. Enemies are circling me like vultures, and a vampire slams their knuckles into my head, causing me to fall to the ground. My head rings, and before I have time to recover, I'm kicked in the stomach.

'FUCK!' I swear. 'William, I need your help!'

William doesn't answer. I hear him whimper somewhere in the background and cough blood when another vampire kicks me right in the stomach. Excruciating pain is making it impossible to stand, and I hold my breath when a familiar face lifts me from the ground.

"Oh, the dear luna has fallen," Juula tilts her head as she studies my face with an evil smile. Fuck me. I should have understood that she was yet another traitor—she always stuck around with Riley. Brad and Larissa are probably with Riley as well. "You sure have beautiful eyes."

I howl in pain when Juula rips out my left eye. She doesn't even show any remorse. She holds the bloody eye right in front of my face and laughs in entertainment.

"Oops!" Juula pouts at me, faking guilt. "I accidentally ripped it out!"

I'm thrown aside like a rag doll, and the moment I touch the ground, the Summerburst clan bites into my skin. I can barely see, and the pain is almost too much to handle. Finn is doing god knows what, and my limbs feel heavier than lead.

Giving up sounds like a good idea. I close my eye and turn back into a shivering human, only to be stricken by the terrifying sound of the Summerburst pack whimpering like a pack of defeated underdogs.

A familiar voice speaks inside my head. 'Am I late for the party?'

Dior is standing before me in his white wolf form, lowering his magnificent head and widening his eyes to the sight of my bloodied face. Rage seems to boil beneath his very skin, and the wolf slowly turns around to face our enemies with inner anger that even I find scary.

Dior changes his form into a human, and I stare at him when I hear manic laughter leaving his lips. "I changed to tell you that you're all insane—did you think you could get away with doing this? SHE IS MY MATE!"

I watch as the entire sky turns dark. Shadows creep into the forest, materializing into snickering, faceless men. There is a whole pack of them, and when Dior lifts his hand, they attack the Summerburst pack, splattering their blood everywhere.

Horror seizes me, and I lie there, unmoving, as Dior hovers above me with concern radiant over his features. He falls to one knee and picks me up without a word. I'm not sure whether to fear Dior or be happy about his return, which he notices.

"We are heading home," Dior whispers, giving me a crooked smile sweet enough to melt my spine. I relax in his arms. "That's a good girl. Fearing me is a wasted effort—I'm harmless."

I mumble a reply. "Somehow, I doubt that."

Dior smiles, but I can see the concern in his eyes. "Jesus Christ, you need to see a doctor. How are you not unconscious?"

"Oh, this?" I point at my missing eye, smiling faintly. I've missed Dior so much that I can't help but make jokes even when I'm suffering. "It's only a flesh wound."

"You don't always have to act tough. Sometimes it's alright to admit that you're in pain," Dior hugs me to him, and I sob. His arms around me feel safe, and I almost lose my cool when he places a soft kiss on the top of my head. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

I want to hold him tighter and tell him everything that has happened, but our romantic reunion is interrupted by Finn.

"Patricia!"

Dior turns around, frowning. Both William and Finn are standing before us, and Dior lifts a questioning eyebrow my way. The mate-bond is allowing me to feel the churning jealousy in the pit of his stomach.

I can't imagine what Dior is thinking right now, seeing me with one naked man and another barely wearing any clothes. His lips are entertained while his eyes seem to ask me, "really?" as they dig into mine.

I try to hide a smile. "Uh, I can explain later."

Dior part his lips to speak, but Finn presses a palm to my chest, shocking us both with his odd behavior. He tries taking me into his arms instead, and surprisingly, Dior lets him.

"This is all my fault!" The fairy cries as he squeezes me to his broad, naked chest. By now, I'm like a doll that's being passed around. I'm too numb to feel my toes, and I'm barely even awake. "Kyra died, and I just lost it—I'm so, so sorry, Patricia!"

I swallow thickly and speak in a tired voice. "I forgive you—I'm sorry about your sister, Finn."

The fairy gasps for air, and then I'm hugged even tighter to him. A blue glow covers his entire body, causing the others to take a step back and watch the light surround us.

"I can't give you your eye back, but Kyra passed me her water powers before she died—I'm now a bearer of two elements, and I can help you heal much faster."